Magazine lauds Hispanic success

KU support cited by Hispanic Outlook

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine recently selected KU for its 2004 Publisher’s Picks list of colleges and universities that have a solid record of “recruiting, enabling and graduating Hispanic students.”

The magazine also named the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications to its list of the top 25 university programs granting the most bachelor’s degrees in journalism and mass communications to Hispanics. KU was 19th on the list.

“ The School of Journalism is committed to diversity,” said Ann Brill, dean of journalism. “Living in a state with a growing Hispanic population, we realize it is especially important that our school reflect this diversity. Our Multicultural Scholars Program has helped us to recruit and retain many outstanding multicultural students. We’re very proud of all of our students.”

KU boasts eight Multicultural Scholars Programs on its Lawrence campus. The program, recognized as one of the nation’s most successful retention programs for students of color, began 11 years ago in the School of Business and has expanded to architecture and urban design; journalism; education; pharmacy; applied behavioral science; African and African-American studies; and languages and humanities. KU’s HawkLink program, designed to recruit and retain students of color, was named last year as one of the most successful programs of its kind by one of the nation’s leading higher-education consulting firms.

“ The University of Kansas is committed to providing all students the tools to achieve academic success, but this commitment is especially true of our Latino students,” said Robert N. Page, director of KU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.